


Blame it on the Mistletoe

by ajremix



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: M/M, Manipulative Plant Aliens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 18:51:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9002368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajremix/pseuds/ajremix
Summary: The mistletoe is especially potent this year.





	

The crew collectively decided- minus Rip who gave in when he realized he was horribly outnumbered -that since their latest jaunt dropped them off in some out of the way, snow-filled mountain in Chile, they may as well have a Christmas party. Or just a holiday party given two members of the crew were Jewish and Rip was non-denominational. Sure it was July but there was a foot of snow outside and they hadn't had any downtime outside of the timestream for quite a while. It was, they felt, owed to them.  
  
Sara, Rip, Jax and Stein decorated the bridge with Gideon's help, who also made the menorah to Len's exacting specifications. Mick went to get a tree and Kendra went with him to make sure he got one that looked close enough to a pine instead of the first one he saw. Ray spent his time in the kitchen baking cupcakes and icing them red, green, blue and white.  
  
The table on the bridge was covered with a white tablecloth and turned into a buffet, each person having Gideon create their favorite holiday food and Rip's study was converted to a bar. The tree blinked with lights by the stairs and, on a table opposite it, the menorah stood with electric candles. As Gideon played an assortment of songs softly overhead, people began drifting in, electing to change into something a little more festive. Ray and Stein entered first, both wearing ugly sweaters- Stein's lit up and Ray's had puff balls attached to it. Kendra entered with an oversized Santa-styled sweater over leggings and a headband with bell-tipped antlers. She pressed a kiss to Stein's cheek before wrapping her arms around Ray, beaming brightly.  
  
Then came Jax along with Sara who was teasing him about his poofy Santa beard and hat combo. Sara herself had an ugly sweater with equally gaudy, oversized dangling tree earrings to go along with it. Before they stepped into the bridge, Kendra called out, "Mistletoe!"  
  
They paused and looked up. "Seriously?" Jax asked, even as he put his arm around Sara's shoulder, neither fighting grins as they gave each other light pecks on the cheek. Sara went for the bar while Jax joined the group. "You look great," he told Kendra, who hugged him as he kissed her cheek as well. The fact he had to pull down his beard to do it made her laugh.  
  
"And look at you!" She tugged on his tie with a menorah at the base. "All dressed up!"  
  
"Gotta help Gray represent." Stein laughed at the answer, patting Jax's back warmly.  
  
All of the sudden, Sara darted in and tugged Jax's beard off. "Gotta take this, thanks!" She bounded across the room where Rip had just entered, dressed normally though missing his coat. Sara pushed him back into the door way, then gave him her drink. Completely lost as to what was going on, Rip could only stand there as Sara draped the fake beard on his face and leaned up to kiss him, getting more beard than mouth. "Now you're ready to join the party!" She winked and went back to the bar to fix herself another drink.  
  
Rip just rolled his eyes. He tugged at the beard so it wouldn't be in his way as he drank but otherwise kept it on.  
  
"This is a cozy little shindig."  
  
The group jumped and turned, surprised to find Len lounging against the wall nearby. He'd traded in his dark sweater for a rich blue with snowflakes stitched in shiny silver, one of Ray's cupcakes in his hand.  
  
"Snart," Kendra half-squeaked, "how did you get in here?"  
  
"There's two ways onto the bridge," he drawled. "Why, sad your missed your chance under the mistletoe?"  
  
Jax huffed. "Not getting away that easily," he said before darting in to place a kiss to Len's jaw.  
  
"Generally people get a broken nose for that." They could see Len's lips twitching with the hint of a smile and magnanimously didn't mention it. "So consider the intact cartilage your present. Merry Christmas. Also, Professor, don't fill up on the food just yet. Mick'll be out shortly and he makes the best latkes you'll ever eat." He toasted with the cupcake and meandered to the bar where Sara gave him a hug and offered to make a drink.  
  
As Len promised, Mick entered with a plate full of warm latkes. Like Rip, he hadn't put on anything festive. Ray gave Kendra a peck before taking her antlers. He went over to Mick and thrust the headband at him, "Here!"  
  
Mick stared at them, then at Ray. "Fine," he huffed, putting them on and giving him an 'you better be happy and shut up' look. Ray beamed, then leaned in and put a kiss to the corner of Mick's lips. The man _stared_.  
  
"Mistletoe," he explained, nodding at the door Mick had come through.  
  
Spotting the plant in question, Mick's scowl looked more like a secretly pleased grin. "Whatever, Haircut."  
  
And so the party went on, everyone mingling, talking, drinking. Len kept a casual arm across Sara's shoulders except for the times she danced with Kendra. Mick kept giving Ray and Jax pats on the backs as he passed them and Stein grilled Mick not only on his latke recipe but also tips on making them so crispy. Kendra and Ray stayed mostly wrapped around each other and Rip went from person to person, looking relaxed for once.  
  
Then, for the first time all night, Len and Mick locked eyes across the room. It was like an electric shock, almost painfully so. A jolt right to the chest that sent numbing tingles down their fingers and turned their knees weak. Following that, like air filling a vacuum, was a heat. An overwhelming _need_ that punched the breath right out of them. There was no room left in either of their heads for anything but getting to the other _right_. _Now_. Mick's drink slipped out of his hand, the tumbler spilling across the floor and Len shouldered his way passed Sara and Kendra. They met in the middle with a kiss that made all other activity in the room stop as everyone let out startled sounds.  
  
They kissed like they were aching for it. Like there was a hole inside of them that could only be filled with the other. They bit and licked, hands gripping tight, pulling on clothes like they wanted to climb inside each other. One of them moaned, then moaned again as their hips rolled together. Len growled against Mick's lips, clutching his shoulders tight as he jumped up, wrapping his legs around Mick's waist. Mick let out a low, "Yeah, baby," before shoving Len up against the nearest wall.  
  
The resulting 'thud' was enough to snap Rip out of his daze. "Gentlemen! If you would please-" With the way Mick had latched on to his partner's neck and how Len was shamelessly rutting against the bigger man, Rip decided it prudent to change his tact. "Right, party's over then, I suppose." He grabbed the closest, not-occupied person- Jax -and pulled them to the hall. Stein and Kendra shook themselves out of their stupor and followed. Rip had to practically drag Sara and Ray out.  
  
"What. The _hell_?" Jax said, once they were in the safety of the hall. "Did something happen to 'em? They eat something funny or, or mind control or something?"  
  
"But it happened so suddenly!" Kendra twitched at a breathy gasp. "One minute they're both acting normally, then next... _this_!"  
  
Sara rolled her eyes. "It's not their normal behavior, being so public, but it's not _ab_ normal for them, either."  
  
Everyone stared at her.  
  
"Oh, c'mon! Did no one else figure out they were together?"  
  
Stein pressed his lips together thoughtfully. "I did have suspicions..."  
  
"Rip, what about you? You said they were a packaged deal so you had to have known, right?"  
  
He looked flustered. "Normally, yes, but I had checked beforehand and the term 'partner' won't be officially synonymous with 'spouse' for another twenty or so years. By that logic, I had thought they meant it as 'collaborator' as most people in your time do."  
  
"Whoa, wait," Jax said. "You said you recruited us because we're essentially historical nobodies but their relationship was a big enough deal to be documented? That's relationship goals shit right there."  
  
"Yes, well, I'd much rather those relationship goals not sully-" Rip cut off abruptly as something caught his eye. He plucked the mistletoe from the doorway. "Oh God- Gideon, please tell me this is mistletoe."  
  
"I'm afraid mistletoe does not grow in South American. It is a Viscumian branch."  
  
"And you could not have possible let me know this was on board earlier?" He waved the plant impotently at the ceiling. "Never mind, just release the counter-agent, please."  
  
There was a low hiss followed by something the smelled like citrus. After taking a few deep breathes, everyone seemed more alert and confused at the fact they hadn't noticed they were feeling muddled to begin with.  
  
"Captain Hunter," Stein asked, "what exactly is this... Viscumian branch?"  
  
"This," Rip held the plant up, making half of the crew take a step back, "is an invasive alien plant. It is a semi-sentient, quasi-psychic hemi-parasite, capable of staying dormant for decades until a suitable host is found."  
  
"Which means what, exactly?" Jax asked, still keeping his distance.  
  
"Viscumian branches- more commonly, at least in my era, referred to as Cupid Traps -is capable of psychically causing people's brains to release chemicals associated with affection and enhancing them. In a very limited capacity, thankfully. It can only encourage existing affection, not cause new ones to develop. It then feeds off the, well, pleasure generated during," he was interrupted by a loud moan and continued dryly, "moments like this."  
  
Ray's eyebrows went up. "So it's like, what? A benign kind of date rape drug?"  
  
"There's no way to make a benign anything that uses the word 'rape'," Sara gave him a withering look. "So what do we do with that," she nodded at the plant. There was a collective wince at the low growl of, 'fuck, you feel so good'. "And also those two?"  
  
"Is the counter-agent not working?" Asked Stein.  
  
"The counter-agent has entered their systems," Gideon replied, "the speed of treatment is dependent on how strongly the Viscumian branch effected them."  
  
"So," Ray said slowly, "I think it would be safe to assume they were already pretty attracted to each other before this."  
  
The statement was punctuated by a breathy moan from Len. "C'mon, Mick," his voice was a sultry purr unlike any of them had heard before, "you know how I like it."  
  
"Gotta beg me first, darling."  
  
"Damn, they are really going at it!"  
  
"Miss Lance!" Rip pulled her away from the corner, not even knowing when she'd gotten there. "Look, we need to get rid of these things! Who knows what kind of damage they could do to the timeline! Who brought this on board?"  
  
"I did," Kendra said. "I got it from a tree outside. The place was full of them."  
  
Rip gave a ragged sigh. "Of course it is. I don't know how these things got here, but we can't very well leave them. Once the counter-agent has come into affect, we'll have to burn every infected tree. I suppose Mr. Rory will consider it a Christmas miracle. It would be much easier to see how widespread the infection is if we could use the main computer. If only certain people would _get a room, please_!" Rip shouted at the corner.  
  
"Get your own room," Mick growled, punctuated by long, low moan from Len that could have been Mick's name.  
  
"Captain," Gideon's voice took on what seemed like a plaintive tone, "according to my scans Mr. Snart and Mr. Rory should no longer be under the Viscumian branch's influence."  
  
"Gentlemen, if you would please take this elsewhere!"  
  
"Hey, they know the risks of having sex in a public location," Sara said. "They've got no one but themselves to blame if someone walks in on 'em." Beside her, Kendra nodded eagerly.  
  
"If I had known you'd all be such cockblocks, we wouldn't have come on this trip." The team looked up, startled, at Len's drawl, he and Mick all but strutting their way off the bridge. Len's shirt was in disarray, collar stretched out of shape and the makings of prominent hickies against his neck and collarbones. Peeking out from the uneven drape of his shirt was his belt, ends hanging undone. Mick, for some reason, had his suspenders up but no shirt, scratches down his chest and barely discernible on the scars covering his back and shoulders. The antlers, though now off-kilter, were still on his head. Both were utterly unrepentant at their respective states. "We had a nice mood going but your loud yammering is a distraction."  
  
Both Rip and Stein averted their eyes, Jax's expression scrunched in dismay. The other three looked on in varying degrees of interest. "Oh my," Steing pinched the bridge of his nose, "have neither of you any shame?"  
  
Jax scrubbed at his face with both hands, words coming out as a muffled whine. "Gray, c'mon man- I can feel that!"  
  
"Please," Len snorted, "considering how often we've been in prison, our shame's died a long time ago." He gave Mick a wicked look over his shoulder. "But as we have more options available in our rooms and less interruptions..."  
  
"Okay- you may not have any shame, but I do _not_ need to know this." Jax raised his hands in the air, turned and abruptly left. Stein followed closely after, trying to hide how red his face was.  
  
Sara, grinning just as shamelessly as Len, said, "Personally I find this conversation fascinating."  
  
He smirked. "Pity I've never been very good at sharing." Without looking back, Len grabbed one of Mick's suspenders and pulled him down the hall.  
  
Ray hovered close by Rip's shoulder, hand twitching like he was about to snatch the Viscumian branch. "Rip, could I maybe-"  
  
"Absolutely not!"


End file.
